Elastic handle for safety razors



March 25, 1941., G. MONNET ELASTIC HANDLE FOR SAFETY RAZORS Filed Nov. 22, 19 1 INVENTOR GEORGES MONNET BY A; W 4' ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 25, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFF 8 Claims.

This invention relates to safety razors, and refers more particularly vto safety razors provided with an elastic handle.

So-called safety razors do not ensure complete a safety to users, since it is well known from every day experience that the use of such razors might cause cuts and abrasions. The reason for these injuries to the users is that heretofore safety razors were made of hard metallicparts held by hand and moved over the soft yieldaole human skin in the course of the shaving. It is practically impossible for the user to vary the pressure exerted by the hand holding the razor upon his skin to adapt it to the particular requirements of his skin, with the result that in many instances the blade of the safety razor penetrates too deeply into the skin and causes cuts and abrasions.

An object of the present invention is to elimimate the danger of injuries to human skin through the provision of a safety razor comprising means exerting a yieldable resilient pressure upon the skin in the course of the shaving process. at A further object is the provision of a safety razor comprising a resilient, elastic or yieldable hand grip through the use of which the pressure which said razor may exert upon the skin in the course of the shaving is variable, thereby ensuring a smooth shave which can be carried out by long strokes.

While heretofore in the course of the shaving a hard, unyieldable metallic element was moved over the soft yieldable skin, in accordance with the present invention the hard metallic parts. of which the handle of the razor is composed are totally or partly eliminated and are substituted by yieldable, resilient or elastic elements which will cause the blade to press against theskin with only a predetermined amount of pressure sufiicient to carry out the shaving but not great enough to cut or injure the skin.

In accordance with a realization of the above and other objects of the present invention the 45 handle of the safety razor is made of a yieldable elastic or resilient material; it may be made entirely of rubber or of a steel spring, or it may consist of a hollow chamber which is inflated to the desired extent. Metallic membersmay, however, be combined with resilient means to constitute the handle.

Finally, the handle may consist of a combination of the above means, namely, it may consist of a metallic spring situated within an inflatable hollow chamber, the outer walls of which are til?) made of rubber and which cooperates with the metallic casing for the purpose of adjusting the amount of pressure transmitted by the handle to the blade to the desired extent.

The invention will appear more clearly from w Figure 3 is a longitudinal section through a safety razor the handle of which consists of a spring enclosing a metallic rod;

Figure 4 is a cross-section along the line 4 l of Figure 3;

Figure 5 shows a safety razor comprising a rubber cover;

Figure 6 is a cross-section along the line 6E5 of Figure 5;

Figure 7 shows a safety razor the handle of-' which comprises a rubber element and a metallic cover;

Figure 8 is a cross-section along the line ii-li of Figure 7; and

Figure 9 shows a safety razor the handle of which comprises a spring, an inflatable rubber body, and a metallic casing.

Similar parts are indicated by similar numerals throughout the various figures of the drawing.

The safety razor shown in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawing comprises a guard ill, which is made of metal and is of standard construction. A blade I l is clamped between the guard ill and the clamping member I2, which comprises a threaded stem l3. The stem I3 is screwed into a metallic block [4, which is preferably rectangularin cross-section.

-In accordance with the present invention, the handle of the razor is constituted by a rubber tube I5 comprising an upper portion Iii, which encloses the block l4. The upper surface ll of the handle l5 serves as a support for the guard 3. The lower portion I8 of the handle I5 is hollow and encloses an inner chamber H), which may be filled with compressed air or other gas or liquid by means of a valve 20.

It is apparent that through the use of an elastic handle IS the force with which the blade ll presses against the skin in the course of the shaving may be varied at will. If the skin is very sensitive, the amount of compressed gas filling the chamber l9 may be very small and the user by holding the handle l5 at its lower end 13 will diminish still further the force with which the blade H is applied to the skin. On the other hand, if more pressure is required, the chamber [9 may be filled with a compressed gas and the user by holding the razor at the upper portion l6 of the handle may increase the pressure of the blade H to a considerable extent.

The safety razor shown in Figures 3 and 4 of the drawing comprises a clamping member l2 which is integral with an elongated rod 2| having a threaded end portion 22. An end member 23 comprises a hollow cylindrical projection 24, which is provided with inner screw-threads 25. The end 22 of the rod 2| may be screwed into the threaded hollow cylinder 24.

The end member 23 serves as a support for a coiled steel spring 26, which surrounds the entire rod 2i and the upper end of which presses against the lower surface 21 of the guard H).

The spring 23 serves the same purpose as the rubber handle of the previously described construction, namely, it serves as a yieldable support for the hand holding the safety razor, thereby making it posible to adjust the pressure exerted by the blade I I upon the human skin.

The safety razor shown in Figures 5 and 6 of the drawing comprises a handle 23 of the usual type, into which the stem l3 of the clamping member l2 may be screwed.

In accordance with the present invention, the metallic handle 28 is surrounded by a hollow rubber casing 29, the upper ends 33 of which engage the lower surface 21 of the guard l0 and may be firmly connected therewith by glue or the like. The lower end 311 of the rubber casing 29 may be provided with an opening 3!. The blade H is inserted and removed by unscrewing the clamping member 12 and then screwing it on again, so that the connection between the guard 10 and the casing 29 is a permanent one.

Due to the provision of the rubber casing, which is gripped by the user in the course of the shaving, the amount of force transmitted to the blade II is diminished and thereby the danger of injuring human skin is considerably decreased.

The safety razor shown in Figures 7 and 8 of the drawing comprises a handle 32 which is made of a solid piece of rubber and which is enclosed in a metallic casing 33. As illustrated in Figure 7, the rubber handle 32 is movable withinthe casing 33 and a certain amount of space 34 may remain between the lower surface 35 of the rubber handle 32 and the lower portion 36 of the metallic casing 33. By shifting the rubber handle 32 within the casing 3E5, the amount of force transmitted to the blade I I may be varied at will. If the user desires a light shave, i. e., if he wishes that the blade ii should press with less force against the skin, he shifts the rubber handle 32 higher up in relation to the casing 33, so that a large portion of the rubber handle 32 remains uncovered by the casing 33 and projects beyond the casing. On the other hand, if more force is required, during shaving, the user will shift the rubber handle 32 further toward the lower portion 33 of the casing 33, so that a greater portion of the rubber handle 32 will be covered by the casing 33.

Therefore, in the construction shown in Figures '7 and 8, the handle consists of two portions, namely, a metallic portion 33 and a resilient or elastic portion 32, and the operative lengths of these two portions may be varied at will by the user, thereby varying the amount of pressure transmitted to and by the blade I l.

The safety razor shown in Figure 9 of the drawing is provided with a handle which combines the various features heretofore described. The handle comprises a rubber portion 31 which consists of a hollow casing enclosing an inner chamber 38. The metallic block 14 into which the stem I3 of the clamping member 12 is screwed, is engaged by the upper end of a metallic coiled spring '39 which is situated within the chamber 38 and the lower end of which presses against the bottom portion 43 of the rubber handle 31.

The bottom portion 43 also carries the valve 20 by means of which the chamber 33 may be filled with compressed air or other gas. A tubular container 4| encloses the rubber handle 31.

In this construction the amount of pressure transmitted by the blade ll may be varied by several means. In the first place, it is possible to inflate the interior 33 of the rubber handle 31 through the valve 20, thereby increasing the stiifness of the rubber handle 31. In the second place, the resiliency of the handle may be varied by varying the position of the rubber handle 31 within the tubular metallic casing 4!. Furthermore, a certain amount of resiliency is maintained in the handle through the provision of a spring 39 within the rubber handle 31.

What is claimed is:

1. In a safety razor, a handle comprising a hollow inflatable portion.

2. In a safety razor, in combination with a clamping member; a block adapted to be connected with said clamping member, a rubber handle having a portion engaging said block and another hollow portion, and a valve carried by said handle and connecting the interior of said hollow portion with.the atmosphere.

3. In a safety razor, in combination with a clamping member; a block adapted to be connected with said clamping member, and a handle having a rubber member enclosing said block and a metallic casing at least partly enclosing said rubber member and movable relatively thereto.

4. In a safety razor, in combination with a clamping member; a block adapted to be connected with said clamping member, and a handle having a rubber member engaging said block and a metallic casing at least partly enclosing said rubber member and movable relatively thereto; at least. a portion of said rubber member being hollow, a coiled spring situated within said hollow portion, and a valve carried by said rubber member and connecting the interior of the hollow portion of said rubber member with the atmosphere.

5. In a safety razor, in combination with a clamping member; a rectangular block consisting of a hard, non-elastic material having a noncircular cross-section and connected with said clamping member, and a handle consisting at least partly of an elastic material in which said block is embedded.

6. In a safety razor in combination with a guard and a clamping member: a block consisting of a hard non-elastic material having a substantially square cross-section and connected with said clamping member, and an elastic handle portion engaging said guard and enclosing said block.

7. In a safety razor, a handle comprising a resilient portion and means connected with said handle for varying the resiliency of said handle portion.

8. In a safety razor in combination with a guard; an elongated rod, a coiled spring surrounding said rod and constituting the hand grip of the razor, and adjustable means connected with said rod for supporting one end of said spring, the opposite end of said spring 5 engaging said guard.

GEORGES MONNET. 

